


Tall trees and shiny coins

by Ideasofmarch



Series: Birds of a feather [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Albus Dumbledore Bashing, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Intelligent Harry, Libraries, M/M, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Rating May Change, Ravenclaw Harry Potter, Smart Harry, Smart Harry Potter, but they get theirs, harry gets adopted (kind of), is - Freeform, redo, sorry - Freeform, the dursleys were AWFUL people, this bitch, with slytherin tendencies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2019-09-07 05:31:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16848064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ideasofmarch/pseuds/Ideasofmarch
Summary: Harry gets practically adopted by the punk rock local librarian and his new teacher that bares a striking resemblance to the character Miss Honey from Matilda. Their influence drastically changes who Harry could have been, from his appearance to his personality, to his music taste.with a nurtured mind and a bad attitude, the wizarding world, Albus Dumbledore in particular, could never have anticipated the confident, silver tonged enigma that was Harry James potter.-----THIS STORY IS ABANDONED MY DUDES, MY MOST SINCERE APOLOGIES---------





	1. up till now

**Author's Note:**

> Hey pretty shining people,  
> (shout out if you caught that song reference)  
> This first chapter is more of a prologue really, just setting the scene, introducing characters and what not.  
> This will be a hell of a long series if my plan is anything to go by, but i'm warning you now updates will be hella slow, but even if I don't update in month I do not plan on abandoning this work.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this prologue, the actual first chapter will be in as soon as possible.  
> Ta!
> 
> Oh also before I forget, All these characters belong to JK rowling, as well as the universe and I make no profit off of anything I write here. :)

 

 

Harry was five and his aunt had put him in his cupboard again for playing with one of Dudley’s toys. She said that freaks don’t deserve nice toys. He doesn’t really know what that word means,  _deserve_ , but he thinks it means Harry wasn’t allowed to do that.

Maybe that’s why aunt Petunia was always so angry at him: he was doing things he wasn’t allowed to do. Maybe that’s why he was a ‘freak’.

His little black head perked up. He had figured it out! If he did what he was told then the Dursleys would finally love him.

~0~

Harry was six and his plan did _not_  work. The rules in the Dursley home were stupid, random, and only ever applied to Harry.  _And_  they changed  _all the time_. One time Harry had served his uncle a steaming plate of bacon and gotten yelled at for ‘trying to burn Vernon on purpose’, then the next day he got smacked because the bacon  _wasn’t_  steaming.

There was no way for Harry to win.

So he stopped trying to get the Dursleys love, he didn’t want it anymore. He realised that the Dursleys were liars too, they said he Dudley was kind, he wasn’t. They said Dudley was smart, he wasn’t. They said Harry was stupid, and he  _definitely_  wasn’t.

Harry knew he was a lot more mature then other kids his age, he thought it had something to do with growing up in a cupboard. He was a lot more mature but also a lot smarter, he thought that that was just something to do with  _him._

In the last year Harry had started spending a lot more time in the local Library. It was the best place in the whole entire world, Big and old, and it smelt like books. Best of all, Dudley hated the library, he refused to even step in the place, and as such the Librarian never heard an ill word against Harry, and was super nice to him.

He was learning a lot too, he had to read books with a dictionary next to him most of the time but he was improving. He wasn’t allowed to show his intelligence though, the Dursleys got really mad when he beat Dudley, and so he just did really well in class but failed the tests.

~0~

Harry was seven and had been practically adopted by the Librarian, Miss Willow. She was a nice young lady, barely scraping 25 years old, with long curly hair and a preference for pastel colours. She liked Harry because he was kind, and smart, and funny. He liked her because not many people did.

The old church ladies didn’t like Willow because she dyed her hair pink and didn’t want to settle down and get married. A lot of other people didn’t like her because he skin was a lot closer to Harry’s shade then the milky whiteness of everyone else in the neighbourhood.

The Dursleys liked to scandal about her at the dinner table, calling her mean names and saying she was a ‘freak’.

That’s how Harry figured out that being a ‘freak’ wasn’t a bad thing, well maybe the Dursleys thought it was a bad thing but they also thought that pepper was spicy. Harry thought Willow was really cool, so if she was a freak, then Harry was proud to be one too.

Willow taught Harry all sorts of things whenever she had time; things like algebra and chemistry, things that many would think him too young to understand. Harry’s favourite was biology, he liked knowing how his body worked and why things in nature behaved the way they did.

She also taught him other things, like self-defence, and just a little bit of manipulation. She wanted him to be well rounded.

Willow also brought a lot of food for Harry; they would meet outside the Library, eat lunch, study, then harry would run home to go make dinner, usually with a sandwich Willow had slipped him.

He was pretty sure that Willow was suspicious about his living situation, but she never said anything when he scarfed down food like he hadn’t eaten in days (he hadn’t), and she always bandaged or cleaned any wounds she spotted on him. Harry loved her for it.

His plan to learn as much as possible while appearing to fail had been foiled as well. He had been placed in a different class then Dudley this year, with a teacher who was brand new to town, Miss Penny.

She was nice to Harry, defending him when the other kids picked on him and not listening to other teachers when they warned her about him.

She liked him because he was smart, almost frighteningly so, and polite, and everything those other teachers said he wasn’t. And she told him to stay after class when they got the results for the first test. All the other kids ‘oooh’d and jeered when she said that, Harry let it roll of his back like water.

“What’s going on Harry?” She had asked, the concern in her blue eyes shocked Harry, who was unused to seeing anything but suspicion.

“What do you mean, Miss Penny?” No other teacher had questioned his bad test results, why was she?

“Your too smart for this test result, don’t lie to me. Why did you fail it?” Her voice was firm and Harry started to panic, if the dursleys were called in they would  _kill him._

“I can’t do better!”

“I know you can Harry, in fact, I think if I gave you a harder test you could probably ace that too.”

“You don’t understand-“ Harry cut himself off, adults never believed him, they just  called in the Dursleys and told them about his ‘lies’, and then Harry would get hit and thrown in the cupboard.

“Then help me understand.” Her voice was gentle now, and Harry wanted to believe her, he wanted to. But he turned his head away.

His eyes were closed, so when he felt dainty fingers gripping his chin and tilting his head up, he flinched. Miss Penny stared at him, long and hard, and he could not hold it in.

“If-if I do better than Dudley, then-then I get in tro-trouble. And I don’t- I can’t.  _Please_  just accept the test.” Harry couldn’t reign back the tears once the floodgates opened, and the words were broken between the sobs.

Harry didn’t expect the hug. The only person to ever hug him had been Willow, but Miss Penny’s hugs were softer, and her voice was kind as she hushed him.

She made harry retake the math test, it was a different one then the first, a lot harder for sure. He wouldn’t do it until she promised to keep the old result on his report card, but he finished the one hour test in 30 minutes. He fidgeted in his seat while he watched Miss Penny mark it.

He wasn’t as shocked as she was when she handed back the paper with a perfect score.

“Harry, that paper was meant for my year nine class.” Her voice was quiet, awed.

He nodded and told her again that she couldn’t tell  _anyone_.

Miss Penny agreed but after that she always gave harry harder tests than anyone else, his homework was different too, more complicated than the papers Dudley got. He kept getting scores in the high nineties, and Miss Penny kept her promise; all his report cards had harry listed as a D.

~0~

Harry was eight and very happy to be in Miss Penny’s class again. She was happy to have Harry in her class as well, she had missed him while she was on vacation that summer.

Harry didn’t know how it happened but Miss Penny and Willow had become really good friends. That was lie, he knew exactly how it happened. Miss Penny had said she wanted to tutor him for the first two months of summer and when he told her that he was being taught by Willow In the library, she asked if she could come. Willow had been delighted for the extra company and the two women had gotten on like a house on fire.

He still lived with the Dursleys, which  _sucked_. But now he could go to the library as soon as he finished his chores and hang out with either Willow, Miss Penny, both, or read; all of which were fantastic options.

Willow was extremely smug, because apparently Harry had adopted her snark, much to Penny’s frustration. Oh Harry could still be nice and polite, but Willow had been teaching him the art of sarcasm for three years now and honing his razor sharp wit all the while. Penny liked to put on a long suffering front when he pulled out his smart remarks, but she enjoyed it as much as Willow did.

Willow was a bit of a rebel. Scratch that Willow was the definition of rebel. With her pastel pink hair, leather jacket, combat boots, sarcasm, and defiant attitude; she was  _not_ what you expected for a librarian. It made it even funnier when Harry walked into the Library to find Willow, in all her punk rock glory, nose deep in a huge tomb sitting next to a small blonde Penny wrapped snugly in a beige sweater.

Harry had laughed then, doubled over with a hand stuck in his mouth to keep himself from making too much noise. He thought of how funny it would be if Penny’s hair was blue or something, to match. And when he opened his eyes Willow was staring at Penny, who had a lock of baby blue hair gripped in her hand.

All three of them were gaping at Penny, unable to offer even a suggestion to what had just happend

All except Harry, who had caused many a thing like this to happen, it had just never happened to someone he cared about.

Harry hadn’t even noticed he’d been tearing up, it was only when Willow pulled him into a hug that he realised how he couldn’t breathe. Penny wrapped her arms around both of them, each women taking turns reassuring and comforting Harry, even though they didn’t know  _what_  exactly had upset him.

“It-It was me. I thought of Penny with blue hair and then she had- had it!” For the first time in a long, long time, harry was scared. He was paralyzed with fear at the thought of Willow and Penny not wanting to see him anymore.

The two women looked sceptical for a moment, but what could have possibly caused Penny’s hair to turn blue the way it did, and at the exact moment Harry had started laughing too? No, these women were logical, but they weren’t going to ignore the facts.

The girls shared a look, one that said clearly ‘ _we will protect this boy’_ , before reassuring Harry that it was perfectly alright if he had done it, and look Harry! The colour looked great on Penny anyway.

After Harry had calmed down, it took a while for him to stop holding the two girls as if they would disappear, Willow asked if he would like to try and turn Penny’s hair back. He nodded, scrunching up his eyes and concentrating on the natural blonde shade of Penny’s hair. For five minutes they sat in silence, but just when Willow was going to suggest hair dye, Penny’s hair jumped up then turned blonde as it fell back onto her back.

They didn’t know what they were expecting, but they were both fairly shocked that it had worked. Their shock was quickly washed away by Harry’s excitement because he could  _control it_!

Penny got over her shock first, her blue eyes gaining a certain spark before suggesting that they work on this power of his. Willow quickly agreed and a bouncing Harry beamed up at the two.

Soon the excitement faded and they went right back to studying homeostasis, but on the way home Harry could not push down the wide grin on his little face.

~0~

Harry was nine and very suspicious of the nature of Willow and Penny’s relationship. Penny wasn’t his teacher this year, but he still spent a ton of time in her class after school or at the library, and she still insisted on giving him tests and worksheets that he was allowed to do well on. His new teacher wasn’t as great as Penny, but Mr john was also new and treated harry like any other student.

Harry may have only been nine but it was easy to notice how the two women seemed to gravitate towards each other, the way they sat far closer than necessary, and always seemed to be touching. If they weren’t already together, Harry thought they would be soon.

His suspicions were confirmed when he caught the two making out in the astrology section the library. They turned beat red when they heard his laughter, whipping their heads to face him. They all had a good laugh about it before Harry dragged them back over to their desk for study time, both women sharing a soft smile between them.

Harry’s magic, because that’s what they decided it was, was progressing well too. He could now warm things up, keep things cool, create light, change the colour of anything he wished, and move things. Over the last year they had figured out that all Harry needed to do was focus on what he wanted to happen and pull the magic out from inside him. Using his hand usually made it easier, almost like a focus, but the more he performed the magic the easier it got.

He wished he had known how to control the magic back when he was stuck in his cupboard with no Willow or Penny, then he could have opened the lock and stolen food whenever the Dursleys forgot to feed him.

~0~

Harry was ten and he had just taken his IGCSE exams, secretly of course, the Dursleys would never allow it if they knew. Willow had paid for the exams, of which he took math, additional math, English, physics, biology, chemistry, history, geography, and French. Harry had cried when Willow told his she would pay the entrance fee, he didn’t bother trying to talk her out of it, knowing it wouldn’t work, and skipped straight to hugging her in thanks.

Penny and Willow were highly amused at his post-exam nervousness, knowing he was probably going to get straight A’s.

Harry had become really good with his magic, it was almost difficult not to use it in front of everyone else. He could easily heal himself whenever Dudley’s gang managed to catch him or Vernon got too rough; it was especially useful that day Petunia took a swing at him with frying pan after he spilled some oil.

Harry spent the year gardening in his magically cooled clothes, talking to snakes, studying in the library, and just generally hanging out with Willow and Penny. It was a good year, the fear of failing his exams only mildly present in his mind.

The results came in a couple of months after he took the exam. Penny was jumping up and down in her excitement, Willow standing next to her with the file in her hand and a happily exasperated expression.

As soon as Harry saw the file he joined Penny in her jumping, excitement and nerves pouring out of him in waves.

It took the three of them a while to actually get to the results, but when they did it was exactly like they expected: straight A pluses. They had gone out for lunch all together, on the other side of town where the Dursleys would never dare go, to celebrate.

Life was perfect for a while after that, right up until Dudley’s birthday. Where Harry was forced along despite his numerous protests and suggestions to just leave him at the Library. They dragged him along and then had the nerve to blame him when the boa just happened to escape. Of course, it was totally his fault and he had made it happen, but they didn’t know that.

After that the Dursleys had kept such a close eye on him that he couldn’t get to the library for  _months_ , he could still get out of the cupboard for food, but his health took a serious turn for the worse. By the time the Dursley forgot why they were so angry it was like a week before his birthday.

Willow started crying when she saw him, running up to him and hugging the living daylights out of him. She barely managed to get an explanation out of him because they were sobbing so hard, and they got more than a few odd looks from other library go-ers.

After herding Harry back towards their usual table, Willow quickly called Penny, who also promptly burst into tears before jumping in her car and hightailing it to the library.

The three of them spent every day together then, after he finished his daily chores, studying and generally just enjoying each other’s company.

Willow had cranked up the level of training she made Harry do. Which meant lots of running (that he did anyway), and push ups, and weights, and hand to hand combat. It wasn’t as fun as it sounded, though Penny definitely seemed to enjoy watching Willow train with Harry.

Penny also pushed harry in his studies, always finding new things for harry to study. By now Penny didn’t even understand half the things Harry was studying, but Willow worked with her all the time so they could help and talk to Harry about his interests.

Life was actually going pretty good for Harry, all he had to do was keep stealthily evading the Dursleys. His shoulders hurt a lot too, also his brain, but it was a good kind of pain. Harry was going to apply for a scholarship at some boarding school that Penny recommended, for gifted children. It was looking up.

And then the letters started coming.


	2. Letters from a very persistent someone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo,  
> turns out I had some free time today, so here's the first actual chapter.  
> I don't have a beta btw, so mistakes might be here or there.  
> Hope ya'll like it.  
> Ta'

The day had started out relatively normal.

Harry had been woken by Petunia’s scratchy voice yelling at him to get breakfast started; not the most pleasant start to a day but Harry had been dealing with this for years. Crouching, because he could no longer sit up straight in the tiny cupboard, Harry waved his hand around his mouth and willed it clean before pushing open the door and crawling out.

It was still early, ridiculously so, the sun wouldn’t be up for at least another hour. He vaguely remembered something Vernon said yesterday about having an early meeting today and yawned.

Harry quickly grabbed some bacon and eggs, Vernon’s favourite, and threw them on the pan. Harry could do better, he’d been cooking for years now and had developed quite the array of culinary skills. But the Dursleys didn’t know that, or they refused to believe someone like him could produce food that good.

It was almost funny how good the Dursleys had gotten at pretending he was incapable of doing anything right. Petunia could serve a perfectly cooked turkey that he’d made at a business dinner and graciously take all the compliments and then tell Harry later how bad he made it.

It was ridiculous.

Harry shook his head and refocused on his task before he burnt himself. A couple of minutes later saw Harry slipping a sunny-side-up egg onto a plate next to some crispy bacon, he looked both ways before swirling his hand around the plate to keep it at the perfect temperature and going over to the sink to wash the dishes.

Vernon liked to do that recently, wait a couple of extra minutes upstairs so he could yell at Harry for serving him cold food. Harry sure did love ruining his plans.

Harry smirked to himself as he watched a very smug looking Vernon strut into the kitchen fifteen minutes later. The whale of a man sat in his chair and happily put a piece of bacon in his mouth before turning to face Harry, presumably to scold him, but the smile dropped as he registered how perfectly warm the bacon was. He harrumphed before turning back to the table and sullenly finishing his breakfast.

Squeezing out the last of the water in the sponge, Harry dropped onto the side of the sink and made to leave the kitchen. He was almost out, another five seconds and he would have been home free. But no, the bloody postman chose that exact moment to ring the bell.

“Go fetch the paper, boy” Vernon said, Harry wanted to throttle him.

He didn’t bother arguing, it was easier to just get the paper then deal with Vernon’s inevitable anger if he didn’t.

He called out a “yes sir,” before walking toward the front door where the papers and letters lay tossed on the floor. Harry took a moment to glare at the door, imagining that the postman could feel it right through the wood, and bent down with a soft groan.

Yesterday had been ‘leg day’ and Willow had really drilled him into the ground. Both his legs were _killing_ him and bending down was right at the top of his least favourite activities to do right now. Willow had had a good laugh as he walked (read: waddled) away from the Library, He hoped she was also in a lot of pain.

Out of habit, Harry shuffled the stack of paper in his hands, reading through them as he went.

Advertisement, bills, bills, Marge, bills, another advertisement, a flyer for a  another advertisement, a flyer for a youth group, and…

A letter for him. Harry stopped dead in the middle of the hallway and read it three more times.

_Mr H. Potter_

_The Cupboard under the Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

There was no mistake, it was addressed to him. In an oddly specific way yes, but it was addressed to _him_. Who could have sent it though? Neither Willow nor Penny would ever write to him here, and definitely not in bright green ink.

Harry was shocked out of his musings when Vernon yelled from the kitchen. “Hurry up, boy! What are you doing, checking for letter-bombs?”

If he rolled his eyes any harder they would’ve fallen out. Vernon was chuckling at his own (bad) joke when Harry stuffed the letter into the back of his pants and stepped into the kitchen. Dudley and Petunia had come down while he was busy with the letter, his aunt was munching on an apple, making her resemblance to a horse even more pronounced, while Dudley ate bacon like a starving man.

He slapped the letters on the table in front of Vernon using more force than necessary, he winced as soon as he did it, and risked a hesitant glance up at Vernon, who was turning purple in anger. He saw it coming and braced for the slap.

_Whooop._

Vernon had back handed him so hard that it sent him careering onto the floor.

He laid there for a moment in a pained heap before running his hands over his face. To the Dursleys it probably looked like he was trying to gather his wits. In actual fact magic was seeping right through his fingers and taking all the pain of the slap away.

He was about to retreat when Dudley shouted, “What’s that, there? The freaks got a letter!”

 _God dammit_ , Dudley was the single most annoying person _ever_.

Harry didn’t even get a chance to defend himself when Petunia ran forward and ripped the envelope from his pants. Her eyes widened comically as she read the words.

“What’s it say mummy? Let me see!” For the first time in his life, Dudley was ignored.

“Get out.” Petunia’s voice was quiet and infinitely less shrill, nobody moved. “Dudley, boy, Get. Out.”

Before either boy knew what was happening they were shoved out the door by a pale Vernon, Dudley protesting loudly the whole time. They fought silently for a moment before Harry just accepted his fate and crouched at the bottom of the door to hear in while Dudley listened at the door knob.

“How do they know where he sleeps, Vernon?” Her voice was quivering with fear.

“They must be watching us, those freaks.” Vernon muttered.

“Should we write them back? Tell them we don’t want-“

“No, ignore it. If they don’t get an answer they’ll leave us alone.” Vernon seemed entirely too pleased with his deduction.

Oh, how wrong he was.

~0~

The next few days brought what must have been thousands of letters, all delivered in increasingly ridiculous ways. From being sent en masse through the post to being curled up in the eggs, whoever was sending these letters sure was creative, and persistent.

Each new attempt brought more and more frustration for both Vernon and Harry. Vernon was becoming paranoid, boarding up windows and doors, camping in front of the door (stepping on Vernon’s face was the highlight of Harry’s day), anything just to get rid of the letters. Harry, on the other hand, just wanted to know what the hell was in those letters.

He was also highly annoyed because the Dursleys were keeping a very close eye on him, meaning no library. He’d been MIA for nearly a week now, Willow and Penny were going to start panicking soon.

It was on Sunday, when the chimney had sputtered out hundreds of letters, that Harry finally managed to grab one, or four. Petunia had taken the one in his hand, the one he’d deliberately picked up as a decoy, before shooing him out the room so they could burn all the rest, not once thinking that he may have stuffed a few into the gigantic swathes of fabric he was wearing.

That night, harry used his magic to slip the little lock on his cupboard open and quietly tip-toed into the kitchen.

He didn’t make a sound, years of practice and drills at Willows hand had made him a master of sneaking around. So, when he jimmied open the back door and snuck out, no one in the Dursley family was any the wiser.

Oh, there would be yelling in the morning when breakfast wasn’t made and walruses and horses panicking about what one Albus Dumbledore would do if he found out they’d lost the boy. But that wouldn’t happen for hours, and by then it would be far too late for them to catch Harry.

He easily jumped the garden wall, _thank you Willow_ , and started making his way to the library under the cloudless sky. Harry threw his head back and took a long inhale of the night air, the cold, crisp oxygen burning his nose. That was freedom.

And he was never going back.

~0~

Harry had shacked up in a little nook outside of the library he had found years ago. With a few waves of his hand the little area warmed up and the ground turned soft, perfect for a quick rest. Harry was a light sleeper, he had to be, living in the Dursley household, and so when the first rays of light touched his skin Harry’s eyes fluttered open.

He sat up but didn’t leave his hiding spot, simply watching as the sun rose and people started flooding the street.

It was always something Harry liked doing, watching the town come to life.

His green eyes were searching for something in particular though, a certain someone with pastel pink hair and a leather jacket.

Finally, after what felt like hours, he spotted her. Willow was wearing her trade mark leather jacket and combat boots over some pale ripped jeans, a loose printed tee tied at her waist. Her pink hair was messier than usual, the way it got whenever she hadn’t seen Harry in more than a week, and her mouth was set in a hard line.

He jumped up.

“Willow!” Harry shouted and waved her over, he smiled when her face softened as she caught sight of him.

“Harry!” She was next to him within moments, hugging him close to her chest, “We were so worried, what happened this time?”

“Somebody was sending me letters.”

“Letters?”

“Yeah, it was so weird. Vernon was going mad trying to keep them from me. But I sneaked a few out with me.” He told her proudly.

“Nice one, kid.” Willow gave him a fist bump, “I’ll call Penny, and then we can read it together. That okay with you?”

He nodded and followed her inside, the pair causing more than one eye to turn. To be fair, they did make a rather odd looking couple in a library of all places; she looked like she belonged at a rock concert and he looked like he belonged on the streets.

They didn’t have to wait long for Penny, who lived only a few minutes’ drive from the library. She found them sitting on a table near the back, tucked behind a bookshelf. It was the most private spot in the library, it was why they had chosen it all those years ago.

Penny greeted Willow with a quick peck before turning and hugging the life out of Harry.

They filled her in on what had happened in the last few days, and she played with a thread on her sweater while listening.

“Wait, you ran away?” She interrupted.

His tangled hair bounced as he nodded, “I couldn’t take them anymore, so I stole a letter and left.”

“Oh Harry, you know you can stay with us, but if the police come they won’t let us keep you.” Both Willow and Penny looked incredibly annoyed that even if they tried to adopt Harry no one would let them.

This had been a topic of discussion for many years now. Both women were financially stable enough to support Harry, but people balked at a single women trying to take care of a child, let alone two women that were a couple. It just wasn’t possible.

“They won’t file a police report, wouldn’t want the attention.” Harry reassured them.

“Well alright then,” Penny smiled, “Let’s read that letter.”

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

 

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

 

Dear Mr H. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy headmistress

For a second none of them said anything, then-

“There’s more of me?”

“Hogwarts?”

“Oh, that makes so much sense.”

They all spoke at the same time, causing them to giggle for a moment.

“So, I’m a wizard?” His eyebrows were pulled together and Willow wanted to snort at how cute he looked, Penny, who knew _that_ look, elbowed her in the stomach.

“We already knew you had magic Harry, it can’t be that surprising.” Willow’s voice was tinged with the pain of being elbowed by your surprisingly strong girlfriend.

“Well yeah, but now I know there’s other people just like me!”

The girls shared a sad smile over Harrys head, they had never been able to fully kill the idea that Harry was a freak, the Dursleys had done a number on him far before they had met him.

Willow turned her attention back to Harry and the letter, the both of them going over the second sheet of parchment that listed all the things he would need to buy. Penny, meanwhile, was lost in her thoughts.

Hogwarts, _Hogwarts,_ She knew that name. She couldn’t remember when, but that school name rang all sorts of bells. Penny tended to hold her breath when she was trying to remember things and right now she’d been keeping it in for so long she almost passed out. And then the memory came to her.

_“Oh dear, did you hear?” Penny’s mum asked her father. “Hope’s boy got accepted into that school her husband went to.”_

_“That’s lovely honey, they were so worried he wouldn’t get to go, what’s his name again?” Her dad smiled over the breakfast table._

_“Remus I think it was.” Penny’s mum said before putting another spoonful of eggs into her plate._

_“Ah, ask your sister if they won’t come over for dinner one of these days.”_

“Remus…”

“What’s that, babe?” Willow said, tearing her eyes away from the parchment.

“My cousin, Remus.” Penny’s voice was still wispy in remembrance, “ _He_ went to Hogwarts.”

“Your cousin was a wizard?” Harry looked at her in awe. “Can I meet him?”

“I didn’t _know_ he was a wizard. We saw each other every month for years and the arse didn’t once tell me.” Gone was the softness of her voice, now it was slightly indignant, “We used to be so close.”

“You’re not close anymore?” Willow asked

“No, he dropped off the face of the earth some 13 years ago.” Penny looked sad then, and Willow hugged her.

“Can you contact him?” Willow asked from her position on Penny’s shoulder.

“I know his old address, I can write him, ask him for help with…” She gestured vaguely,”…all this.”

“Only if you want to though Penny.” Harry said, putting his little hand on her dainty one.

“I do Harry, It might be good to talk to him, after all these years.” Penny smiled, softly at first, then it turned mischievous. “And he can bloody well tell me why he stopped writing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bet ya'll weren't expecting Remus this early in the game ;)  
> Kudos and comment if you liked it, lovies.


	3. Uncle moony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turns out I had more free time then I thought.  
> This chapter is heavily focused on Remus, but i plan to shift the POV around alot.  
> Hope ya'll like it and please take it easy on me, this chapters got alotta dialogue and that is not my strongsuit.  
> Ta'

Remus wasn’t expecting the letter. He hadn’t received one in nearly 12 years, not since-

He cut the thought off with a shake of his head, he couldn’t think about _it_ , he wouldn’t. The memories still reduced him to tears if he allowed himself to reminisce. The tea was steaming in his hand as he sat on the threadbare couch he had managed to wrangle a few years back.

The letter was written on a crisp white piece of paper that had water colour flowers painted on the edges. His amber eyes widened in shock.

Only one person he knew took the time to hand paint each and every letter she wrote…

_Dear Remmy,_

_It’s Penny, remember me, your cousin. I know we haven’t written in years, that’s your fault by the way, but I have recently found myself in need of your assistance. You see, it has come to my attention that you, my dear cousin, are a wizard._

_I can’t believe you didn’t tell me, asshole._

_Anyway, my kid, he’s one too. I’m not married, don’t worry, and he’s not biologically mine. But he’s mine in all the ways that matter. He lives with his relatives, horrible people, and they are absolutely no help here. So we need you._

_You know my address, I haven’t moved out of my parents’ house, and if this letter found you then you’re pretty close by. Come whenever you can._

_Can you take us shopping, help us get everything we need for him? He’s smart, he’s so smart it’s almost scary, but I’m sure he’ll want to ask a real wizard for some advice._

_See you soon,_

_Penny_

Penny. Gods, he hadn’t talked to her in years. He had stopped writing once the war started, to keep her safe, only briefly thinking of how much it would hurt his cousin if he just disappeared.

He just couldn’t risk the death eaters finding her.

And then the war was over, and his best friends were all dead, his boyfriend was in prison, and he couldn’t find his cub. There was no time to contact Penny, Remus just had too much to do. But the years wore on and nobody would tell him what happened at Sirius’ trial or where they had put Harry, and too little time turned into far too much time.

Far too much time without his pack, too much time without his mate, too much time without his cub. And in some twisted way Remus couldn’t allow himself to find solace in his cousin, he couldn’t let himself be happy until he tracked down his cub and proved his mate innocent.

Which was a near impossible task.

Even if he had rock solid evidence, Remus was sure the ministry would just destroy it and call him a lying werewolf. And Harry was another story all together, he had tried everything to find him; from the most obscure tracking charms to a simple ‘point me’. The boy was untraceable, and Remus was starting to go mad with worry (who was he kidding, he’d gone mad after a month without Harry.)

But penny had reached out. And she knew about their world now! And she had a kid?

It was all very confusing, but his cousin needed him and Remus didn’t plan on losing her again.

~0~

Remus apparated in that afternoon, donned in his favourite tan sweater that Sirius had knitted for him years ago and his only pair of non-ripped jeans, not wanting to waste any time. Penny had told him to come when he could and seeing as he’d just been fired, he was free right about now.

The house was exactly like he remembered it, all perfect picket fences and cosy walls, it was almost as if no time had passed at all. He’d been 17 the last time he’d been here, fresh out of Hogwarts and moving in with Sirius, life had been good, back then.

He sighed, tired and more than a little sad, before knocking gently on the door. He didn’t have to wait long before a women who was definitely _not_ his cousin swung the door open none to gently.

Her dark eyes looked him up and down as he fidgeted in place. Then her lips split into an amused smile and she snorted.

“Looks like the fashion runs in the family.” She stepped back and threw an arm back to beckon him into the house.

It should be noted that the women did not introduce herself, leaving Remus very confused with who she was, why she was here, and how she knew who he was. Remus, the world’s shyest werewolf, couldn’t bring himself to ask. Instead he followed her dutifully into what he knew was the living room.

And there she was.

Remus was moving before he even consciously made the decision, not stopping until he had his cousin wrapped safely in his arms. Then he cried. Big, ugly, crocodile tears that he had been holding in for _years_ finally breaking through the walls of denial he had built up.

His wolf was barking happily in his mind, it roughly translated to: Pack, pack, pack, pack. For once Remus couldn’t agree more.

Penny was hugging him just as tightly, her face buried in his chest. She pulled away first.

“You absolute ass,” she smacked his chest. Hard.

“Ow, Penny, what was that for.” It didn’t actually hurt, he was a werewolf, remember?

“You bloody well know what it was for you dick! First you don’t tell me you’re a wizard, then you drop contact for 13 years. 13 years, Remus! For god’s sake I thought you were dead!”

“I think a part of me is dead,” The words had slipped past his lips before he could think to stop them, he turned his face away, closing his eyes to hold in what little tears he still had.

“What happened, Remmy?” Penny’s voice was soft, understanding, and it broke him.

“There was a war, Penny. A bad one.” He ran a hand through his blonde hair, “and us writing? It was too risky. If the other side tracked my letters they would’ve killed you, they probably would have done worse first. And then it was over and my life was a mess and I just couldn’t, Penny. I couldn’t reach out and I am _so_ sorry.”

By the time he finished talking Penney had managed to manoeuvre the two of them onto the couch, where she hugged his side as he cried, and cried, and cried. Letting out everything he’d pushed down until there was nothing left. All the while Willow stood watching, Harry standing just behind her.

It took a while for Remus to calm down, but he did, eventually.

“I’m sorry,” He said, still sniffling a little, “You asked me for help and here I am, sobbing all over your couch.”

“Remus, its _fine._ You take all the time you need.” Penny smiled and his heart hurt because by god he had _missed_ this.

“No. No, I’m okay now.” He put on his best smile, it looked a little odd with his puffy eyes and red nose but it was the best he had.

“Well in that case, I’d like you to meet my girl, Willow.” Penny gestured at the pink haired girl, who stepped forward and greeted Remus with a smile. He was shocked for a moment of how much she reminded him of Sirius, it seemed Penny and he shared the same taste in partners as they did in clothes.

 “And my kid, H-“

“Harry.”

The moment Harry had stepped into the room Remus’s wolf had gone wild, and the only thing he could hear was a steady chant of _pup, pup, pup_. Even without his distinctive scent, Remus would know those eye’s anywhere, and the boy looked _just_ like James.

Everyone was staring at Remus, but he was looking firmly at Harry.

“Penny, is this Harry freaking Potter?” His eyes never left Harry’s, even as he directed the question to someone else.

“Uh, yes. it is?” Penny looked incredibly confused, which was fair.

“How on earth did you find him?” Remus turned now, amber eyes burning into Penny’s blue ones.

“Uh it’s more like he found us. Penny was his teacher and he met me at the library. He actually introduced us.” Willow answered for her girlfriend, just a tad defensive.

“How do _you_ know him?” Penny asked.

Remus wanted to laugh. How did he know him? He knew him because he was there when his mum announced her pregnancy. He knew him because he was the first person to feel Harry kick. He knew him because he had been the third person to hold him right after James and Sirius. He knew him because he had had to throw away five different sweaters when harry burped up on them. He knew him because he was his uncle moony.

That’s what Remus desperately wanted to say.

Instead he sat down on the couch again, rubbing his large hands into his eyes before looking back at Harry and saying, “Your dad was one of my best friends.”

Harry gasped, “My dad was a Wizard? You knew him?”

“Your mum too, they were…” Remus closed his eyes as yet another tear escaped, “… the best people I ever knew.”

“Really?” Harry said, green eyes bright with excitement.

~0~

They spent the next few hours thoroughly catching up, swapping stories and such.

Remus talked more than any of them, answering any questions they could think of in regards to the wizarding world, and they could think of _a lot_ of questions. Mostly about the ministry and Hogwarts, stealthily avoiding talking about the war, though Harry had endless questions about his parents.

Through Remus he learned that his mum had had red hair and a fiery temper to match, she had been head girl and fell in love with his dad in their seventh year. Harry also learned that he looked just like his dad, with his mother’s eyes, and that his father used to be an epic prankster.

It was a little less fun to hear about how his parents had died to protect him, and how he was basically a celebrity in the wizarding world.

Remus was sort of dazed through the encounter. He had spent the better part of the last 10 years searching the world for Harry and his cousin, who had known nothing of the wizarding world, had found him, by _accident._ It didn’t matter now, not really, he had his cub back, and nobody – not even Dumbledore – would take him from Remus again.

Remus smiled as he watched Harry badger Willow into helping him make some biscuits.

Harry ended up grabbing the pink haired woman’s hand and physically dragging her into the kitchen, Penny laughing at Willow’s groans the whole while. Remus sent her a questioning look and she laughed before answering.

“Harry has a tendency to bake whenever he gets exited, or stressed, or sad.” She stopped for a moment and tapped a pale finger to her chin, “actually, I’m beginning to think he just enjoys baking a lot and uses his emotions as an excuse.”

“He’s a good kid,” Remus said softly.

“The best.” She agreed.

“What’s he like?”

“Smart,” She said with a smile, “Remus he’s a genius, took is IGCSE’s this year, All A pluses.”

“Gods,” was all he could say to that.

“Yeah,” She snorted, “Sharp as a whip that one, he’s funny too, cheeky. And he’s kind, sweetest boy I ever met, despite-“She cut herself of a moment too late.

“Despite what?” And then he remembered the letter, _‘he lives with his relatives, horrible people_ ,’ “Penny, please tell me he wasn’t staying with the Dursleys.”

“You know them?” She asked, and there was his answer.

“Lily’s sister and her whale of a husband. They were specifically put on the ‘under no circumstances should Harry be placed here’ list.” Remus pressed a hand into his eyes again, fucking Dumbledore, this had his meddling written all over it.

The Dursleys had been the first place he had checked, all those years ago. But the house they had lived in when Lily had taken them for a visit was empty and try as he may he could not find their new address.

“It’s alright, cousin, we’ve got him now. And that family will never touch him again.”

“Your damn right they won’t.”

The cousins looked at each other, molten amber eyes boring into icy blue ones, simultaneously swearing to protect Harry with their lives. To never let him be chained again. The moment was quiet but the air was charged, Remus broke the tension.

“Hey Pen.” Remus poked her arm. “Can I stay?”

The question was vague, but he meant it in every sense. Could he stay in Harry’s life? Could he stay in hers? Could he stay _here_?

“Of course Remus, you’re mad if you think I’m ever letting you leave again.” She hugged him again before standing up and pulling him to his feet, “Let’s go help those two in the kitchen.”

~0~

The next morning saw the four of them slugging into the kitchen, Penny and Willow clutching their heads as they walked.

After staying up late baking biscuits, and eating said biscuits, the adults had sent Harry off to bed. He went reluctantly, and didn’t fall asleep for hours, both due to his sugar high and the fact that he had just met someone who had known his parents.

After the dark haired child was safely in his room, Penny had made him his own room years ago, the three adults cracked open the alcohol. None of them could remember what had been said now, but they were all a lot more comfortable around each other now, Remus and Willow especially.

Both girls were currently suffering from terrible hangovers, glaring daggers at a perfectly peppy Remus, whose lycanthropy served as an instant cure to anything alcoholic.

They were all eating cereal, Penny and Remus favouring the oats, while Harry and Willow had their coco pops. Willow groaned when Penny’s chair scraped across the floor, the sound reverberating in her skull. It made Remus giggle.

“Oh stop laughing, you arse.” She stopped her groaning to glare at Remus again, “You should be suffering with us.”

“Perks of being a werewolf, darling” He laughed.

Willow made a rude gesture, which Penny had anticipated, automatically covering Harry’s eyes.

“You’re a werewolf?” Harry asked.

“I am.” Remus had decided that hiding what he was simply was not an option with his family.

“Wicked!” The boy said before turning back to his breakfast, Remus smiled softly at his easy acceptance.

They finished the rest of the meal without any other big reveals.

“So, Remus, how do we do this?” Willow asked, she didn’t need to clarify what _this_ meant.

“Well, first we should write back, tell them Harry’s actually coming. Then we go shopping.”

“How do we send the letter?” Harry looked up at Remus as he asked.

“I have an owl, I’ll just pop back to my house and grab her.”

“You have an owl? That is so _cool_. Does she have a name?”

Remus smirked slightly before answering, “Her names Lupa.”

All three of them snorted, well versed in their roman mythology.

“Hey Remus.” Penny said, “When you say, ‘pop back’…”

“I mean it literally.”

“Okay, cool. Are you going to go now?”

And then there was a loud crack and an empty seat where Remus had been sitting.

“Uh, rude” Willow said.

“Wicked.” Harry waved a hand through the space Remus had been occupying not a minute ago.

“Is everything wicked to you?” Penny ruffled his hair as she passed by him on her way to the sink.

“I’m a Wizard celebrity with a werewolf uncle that can teleport.” He smirked cheekily at the girls. “Hell yeah everything is wicked.”

“Language!” They shouted at the same time.

Harry was still laughing when Remus popped back into existence, holding what looked to be a very ruffled owl.

The werewolf was also holding a blank piece of parchment and a quill. Willow quirked an eyebrow at that, it seemed the wizard were serious about staying stuck in the seventeen hundreds.

“Dear professor McGonagall, Harry will be glad to join this year’s class at Hogwarts, thank you for the opportunity.” He read aloud as he scribbled down the note, he didn’t sign it, simply attaching it to Lupa’s leg and opening a window.

The bird nipped lightly at his fingers before opening its gorgeous brown wings and setting off towards Hogwarts.

Remus clapped his hands as he spun around, smiling at the rest of the inhabitants of the kitchen.

“It’s time to go shopping!”

Harry was bouncing in his seat, thinking of all the new books and information he would soon be privy to. But then he thought of something.

“Uh, guys.” The adults all turned to look at him, “I don’t have any money, for school supplies or Hogwarts.”

“Oh Harry, me and Willow will be paying.” Penny grabbed his hand and before he could protest Remus said-

“That probably won’t be necessary.”

“Why?” Willow asked.

“James paid Harry’s Hogwarts tuition in full the day he was born, and Harry’s school vault will cover everything else. I was there when James set it up.”

“I have a school vault?”

“And a personal trust vault, you’ll get access to all the other potter vaults when you turn seventeen.”

“Wait, how many vaults does he have?” Penny raised one blonde eyebrow.

“Not a clue, Harry will have to speak to his account manager at Gringotts, the bank.” Remus smiled, “That will be our first stop.”  

“Well then, the three of us” Penny gestured to herself, Willow, and Harry, “will just go put on some clothes then we can go.”

Remus shot her a thumbs up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	4. Shady business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back. Back again.  
> Hey ya'll, I managed to snag a bit of time here and there to write this one. it's very dialogue heavy hope i didn't mess that up too bad.  
> As always let me know if i make a mistake or something. (I'm actually notorious in my school for my bad spelling, go figure)  
> Kay, Love ya'll   
> bye.

“Penny! Harry! Willow!” Remus called up as he stood at the base of the stairs, “It has been half an hour! What are you all _doing_ up there?”

Harry, of course, had made the age old mistake of opening a book and thinking he could read ‘just one chapter’. But there was no way in hell he was going to tell Remus that.

“Uh, brushing my hair?” He shouted back before hurrying down the stairs.

Remus made a sound that said very clearly, “Yeah right”, ruffling Harry’s hair as he passed.

In the room across Harry’s Penny sat on the bed, looking defeated as she watched her girlfriend doing her make up. Willow was currently applying a brilliant Smokey eye that was pink in the middle and faded to black, for the third time. The first time, Penny had accidentally jostled her arm, causing her to mess it up. The second time, Willow had sneezed, knocking the brush onto the side of her nose. Both females were more then a little frustrated at this point.

“There, done!” The pink haired women said triumphantly, gently placing her brush on the table.

“Finally. Now, let’s _go_.” Penny grabbed her hand, physically dragging her down the staircase.

When they arrived downstairs Remus and Harry were sitting on the table, apparently engaged in a very intense staring contest. The werewolf looked as calm and collected as always, Harry, on the other hand, had watery eyes that were squinting so much one would assume he _was_ blinking.

He blinked.

“God dammnit!” The black haired boy slammed a hand onto the table in frustration.

“I’m sure you’ll beat me someday.” Remus said in a tone that clearly suggested otherwise.

Willow snorted and Penny giggled as they walked into the kitchen.

“We’re ready to go now.” Penny smiled.

“Okay then, everyone hold onto me, I’ll get us there.” Amber eyes glanced at them mischievously, “I’d hold onto my stomach if I were you.”

“Remus, what-“ Penny started, but was cut off when she felt a hooking sensation in her belly.

~0~

Willow and Harry, surprisingly, held their stomach contents after the jump. Penny was not so lucky.

“There there, Pens, first apparition does this to people.” Remus patted her back soothingly.

“You prat.” She replied in a hoarse voice.

“Sorry.” He said, not sounding sorry at all.

After helping her up Remus made his way to a brick wall on the far side of a pub that Willow and Penny somehow hadn’t noticed before. He tapped his wand on the wall in a strange pattern with practiced efficiency and smiled to himself when the archway opened up.

“Welcome,” he spread his arms, the grin on his face stretching from ear to ear, “to Diagon Ally.”

The three others stared in awe as they caught their first glimpse of the wizarding world. The street resembled a market in the 1920’s, vendors and booths outlining shops, patrons chattering and laughing as they went. The magic was blatant, loud, and in your face; from the magical signs floating around to the wizard shooting a jinx at his friend. Harry almost couldn’t believe that this was _his_ world.

And it was amazing.

Remus’ smile was knowing as he pushed the three of them through the arch. Willow had taken the time to put a bit of her hair gel over his fringe to make sure nobody could see the scar, so they weren’t completely bombarded with fans. One or two people did approach him though, and he got dozens of curious looks, but he looked far too much like James Potter to not expect that.

The only reason so many didn’t come up and greet their hero was because if anyone took more then five steps in their direction they were met with the angry glares of a werewolf, a punk rock librarian, and a primary school teacher.

As busy as they were studying every new instance of magic, it is not surprising that the three didn't even notice that they had been lead to the bank. If they had not already been stunned into silence, their first look at Gringotts would have done the job. The towering bank sat proudly at the end of the ally, it was highly imposing in all it’s perfectly marbled glory.

As they walked up the steps Harry saw Remus bow slightly to the guards (Who were goblins! By the way), he and the girls followed suit. None of them caught the surprise in the goblins beady eyes, nor did they see the small smiles that fell onto their lips.

Remus ushered them into a line, they barely noticed, too caught up in the architecture and the wizarding fashion to whine about waiting in line for twenty minutes. The werewolf had to whack them all upside the head when they got to the front to get their attention.

“Good morning,” He checked the nameplate, “Griphook, we would like to talk to the potter vault manager, please.”

“Any of you Potters by blood?” The goblins voice was gruff, but far less rude then if it had been, say, Lucius Malfoy he’d been talking to.

“I am.” Harry answered, voice firm but polite.

“Very well, We can arrange a meeting but you will have to take a blood test first. Is this agreeable?” He addressed the question to Remus.

“It is.” He nodded, “Mr. Potter has not been in the wizarding world for 10 years, please fill him in on everything he needs to know, assuming the blood test confirms his identity, of course.”

Griphook nodded, hopping down from his perch and beckoning Harry to follow him. The boy in question looked at his guardians, then followed when he received an encouraging nod.

Now that he was without his fearsome guard far more people seemed to be inviting themselves over to talk to him. In the short walk across the atrium he shook no less then fifteen hands, as well as being made to kiss two babies. _Two babies!_

Through all this Griphook seemed thoroughly amused, laughing slightly as harry begrudgingly shook another hand, this wizard was crying and going on about meeting his ‘hero’.

Finally after what felt like an eternity the pair reached a large door that was littered in thousands of intricate carvings. Harry didn’t get to stare too long before Griphook waved his hand in a complicated pattern, punctuating it with a jab forwards. The door swung open.

Harry wordlessly followed Griphook deeper into the hall, bowing at each goblin they passed. This time he took notice of the surprise in their eyes, also noting the pleased, slightly smug smile plastered on Griphook’s face. _So it appears wizards are generally rude to goblins, seems rather stupid, seeing as they handle all our money_ , Harry thought.

Griphook knocked on a door that seemed identical to nearly every other one in the hall, it opened silently and immediately. Another goblin sat inside, his frown lessened as Harry bowed.

“Griphook?” The other goblin spoke.

“Ragnok. Mr Potter would like a full audit of the Potter vaults and an inheritance test.”

“Very well, you may leave.”

Griphook nodded before slipping back out the door.

“We will need to test you, make sure you are who you say you are.” The vault manager said sternly.

“Of course.” Harry agreed, who knew what magic could do?

“Lucky for you, the inheritance test will be enough to verify your claim to the Potter vault.”

The goblin waved a hand and a blank piece of parchment floated down off a shelf, along with a very expensive looking knife.

“Your blood, three drops will do it.”

Harry picked up the knife, almost dropping it when he felt the layers of magic it was wrapped in. Green eyes looked up questioningly at Ragnok, who’s eyes were blown open in surprise.

“You noticed the magic?”

“Hard not to, sir, it’s practically dripping in it.”

“That it is, Mr Potter, but it is drenched in goblin magic. A vast majority of wizards and witches couldn’t feel magic triple that.” The goblin looked incredibly curious, rubbing his chin between two fingers. “I wonder…”

“What?”

“Can you perform wandless magic?”

“Yes?” Something about the way Ragnok had asked the question made him believe it wasn’t a common talent.

The black beady eyes of the goblin looked delighted as he waved a hand at the far side of the room. A wooden box floated towards the desk, landing with a dull thud. Ragnok wasted no time in opening it, bringing out a small sphere that reminded harry of that psychic at the fair’s crystal ball.

“Hold this Mr Potter.”

“Why?”

The goblin laughed, “You’re cautious. Good. It is to test your power, the brighter it glows the more powerful you are.”

Harry nodded, only hesitating a little before grabbing the ball.

The second he touched it the ball lit up, glowing so bright Harry wasn’t sure that he wasn’t staring right at the sun through a microscope. He dropped the ball almost as quickly as he’s touched it and rubbing his eyes until he could see something other than white.

“Amazing.” Ragnok breathed, “Mr Potter we will discuss this after you’re inheritance test, the knife is spelled to heal any wound it causes after thirty seconds, as well as destroying any blood left on it.”

Harry found his head bobbing at Ragnok’s last sentence, Remus had impressed on him the importance of not leaving your blood around in the wizarding world.

He didn’t hesitate when he ran the knife along his palm, the fact that he didn’t even flinch while doing it only increased Ragnok’s rapidly growing respect for the boy. Harry squeezed his palm shut, allowing for three drops to fall onto the parchment.

He watched, awed and silent, as the drops ran down the parchment of their own accord, twisting and twirling into letters and words, he didn’t even notice the wound on his palm closing. It was over within a minute, leaving a completely full piece of paper, each word connected to the next with a thin line of blood.

Ragnok read it first, eyebrows climbing up his forehead as he took in the information. When he was finished he seemed stunned, wordlessly handing it over to Harry.

_Name: Hadrian James Potter_

_Mother: Lilian Marie Potter (nee Evans)_

_Father: James Fleamont Potter_

_God Parents : Sirius Arcturus Black III                                                                                                _

_Alice Longbottom (nee Fortescue)_

_ Inheritance:  _

_House Potter_

_House Black (heir)_

_House Gryffindor_

_House Slytherin (heir)_

_House Peverell_

_House Le fay_

_ Magical abilities:  _

_Parselmagic_

_Metamorphous_

**_WARNING CORE BLOCKADGE 50%_ **

“My core is blocked? Why?” He turned his green eyes to the goblin.

“We don’t know. Core binding on children fell out of practice nearly a century ago, we do not know who could have done this.”

“Can you remove it?”

“We can.”

“Good, then I can deal with it later.” Harry took a deep breath, pushing down whatever panic and fear he was feeling. “Lets talk about my inheritance.”

“Well, Mr Potter. As you can see you are heir to both the Slytherin and Black line. This means you will become the lord once the current lord is dead. The Slytherin heirship I would assume you earned through the right of conquest clause.”

At Harry’s confused look Ragnok elaborated.

“When you defeated the dark lord.” When Harry’s eyes flooded with understanding, Ragnok continued. “The Black heirship is from your godfather, the current lord Black, he had you instated as his heir the day you were born.”

“Where is he? Why was he not my guardian? Or my godmother?” His tone was sharp and coloured with hurt.

“Your godmother is currently committed to St. mungo’s, the British wizarding hospital. She was tortured to insanity the day after your parents died. “

“Oh.” Harry didn’t know whether it was better or worse to be receiving this information in a monotone, detached voice.

“Your godfather is in prison.”

“I’m sorry, what?!”

“Azkaban, horrible place. He was arrested soon after your parents murder, for betraying them.”

“My godfather… is the reason I’m an orphan?”

“Well, the rest of you wizards certainly seem to think so.”

Harry narrowed his eyes at the goblins tone, “Did he do it?”

“I wouldn’t know, he never received a trial.”

You could barely even make out the green of Harry’s eyes now, and his mouth was set in a dangerous line. It looked like the wizarding world was far more corrupt and prejudice then what it said on the label.

“I see… Carry on sir.”

“Very well then. It should be obvious how you came to acquire the Potter lordship, mind you, you won’t officially become the lord until your fifteenth birthday. The Gryffindor line married into the Potters several centuries ago, and magic has determined you the best suited to reive the line. Do you know why the Gryffindor line is famous?”

Harry shook his head.

“Godric Gryffindor was a founder of Hogwarts, and Gryffindor is one of the four houses there, with both the Slytherin Heirship and the Gryffindor lordship you would be awarded a certain amount of, shall we say perks, within her walls.”

“It is similar with the Peverell’s. They were an old family, known mostly for a children’s story in which three Peverell brothers have dealings with death. Now the Le Fay house… _that_ is lady magic’s blessing.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sure you know the Arthurian legends. They’re true. Morgan Le Fay was the most powerful witch to ever walk this earth. Unfortunately, her line died out years ago. But it seems magic has, yet again, deemed you worthy to revive it.”

Harry was shocked into silence, to say the least. Lady magic had, three times over, decided him good enough to revive an ancient, powerful line.

“Would you like to move onto your magical abilities?” At Harrys hand gesture, he went on, “Parselmagic. That one was definitely a gift from lady magic when you defeated the dark lord.”

“So, if someone kills me, they get magical abilities from me?”

“Well, no. There is a specific set of circumstance, along with the fact that Lady magic judges each conquest on a case to case basis. For example, the two opponents had to have been of equal strength, the winner had to have been at a disadvantage, et cetera, et cetera.”

“Okay, I think I kind of get it now.”

“Moving on to metamorphoses. That is a usually dormant ability in the black bloodlines, though that is probably due to all their inbreeding. Your grandmother was actually a black, so that is probably where that one came from.”

Ragnok allowed Harry a moment to deal with the flood of information that had just washed over him, before continuing.

“While we were discussing your inheritance I had someone pull up an audit on all your accounts; here.” Ragnok handed him another sheet of parchment.

Harry’s eyes widened almost comically. He was rich. Filthy, stinkin’ rich. The kind of rich that meant neither he nor his kids, nor his grandchildren would ever have to work. The old vaults had thousands of galleons each, scratch that – it was closer to billions of galleons. But, if you could believe it, the real stash was in the potter vaults.

Apparently they were one of the only families _not_ against investing in muggle companies, and as such had gained nearly quadruple what other purebloods had in the last ten years alone. Add that to the vast fortune that the Potters had already amassed – and you get a pile of gold big enough to make a dragon jump for joy.

“There is a problem though.” Ragnok interrupted Harry’s train of thought.

“What?”

“There have been withdrawals.”

“ _Who_?”

“Several to the Dursley family, once a month for ten years.”

Harry growled, a angry sound low in his throat.

“And a few others to different charities.”

“Who authorised these?” His voice had gone quiet, a deadly tone no eleven year old should be able to emulate.

“Your magical guardian, Albus Dumbledore.”

“Can I remove him from that position.”

“Of course, Mr Potter, as long as you have another magical being ready to take his place within an hour.”

“I do.”

“Good, we can do the ritual along with the one to remove the block on your magical core.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Please Mr Potter, you can call me Ragnok.”

“Then you can call me Harry.” He smiled at the goblin, who returned it.

“Do I have authority over the payments going out?”

“You do.”

“Then cancel the money to the Dursleys, and give me a list of the charities and I’ll go over which ones I approve of.”

“Done. We will also call back any keys to your vaults and we have the option to recall any money given without your approval.”

Harry smirked. “Do both, but leave the money with the charities for now. And may I also have a set of keys.”

Ragnok simply waved his hand over the table and five keys appeared. The first was made of a dark metal that seemed to catch the light in a kaleidoscope of colours, sat next to it was another dark key but this one seemed to refuse to reflect any light at all. The middle key was a glaring gold and lined with red. The fourth was all sharp angles, an inky shade of black that reminded harry of a black hole. Finally a simple silver key inlayed with a single purple jewel.

“These are for the Le Fay vault, the Peverell vault, the Gryffindor vault,  the black heir vault, and the potter heir vault. Upon your fifteenth birthday you will gain access to the rest of the potter vaults, and the Black vaults will be come available when we have the permission of the current lord or said lord dies.”

Ragnok placed the keys into a small pouch before handing it to Harry, who nodded in thanks.

“Is there anything else?”

“Well, you do have to collect your heir rings, but that will have to wait until your core is fully functional.”

“Speaking of that, shall we go collect Remus to do the magical guardian swap?”

“Lets.”

Ragnok lead Harry back outside to where Remus and the girls were waiting. The three of them were leaning on a pillar – well, Remus and Penny were, Willow was sat on the floor, glaring at anyone who looked at her funny.

“Finally!” Willow had jumped off the floor the moment she caught sight of Harry.

Remus and Ragnok were looking at her in a very astounded manner.

“How did – you were on the floor and then – and then you – weren’t?” The werewolf was at a loss for coherent sentences.

“ _Lot’s_ of training.” Penny chimed in, Harry nodding along.

The three of them laughed while Remus and Ragnok watched in slight awe and confusion. Ragnok recovered first.

“Harry, we do have work to do.”

“Right, Remus, we’re just here to pick you up for a ritual.”

“What kind of ritual?” The werewolf asked wearily.

The boy just looked at him with a smirk.

“Alright, let’s go.” He sighed, already used to Harry’s antics despite having known him for less than two days.

The girls watched as Remus was practically dragged across the bank, Penny giggling into Willows shoulder at the sight of the six foot something man being manhandled by a skinny little eleven year old.

“Hey, Penny.”

“Yeah, Willow?”

“I don’t think the wizarding world gives a shit if we’re together.”

“What make’s you say that, babe.”

“Oh I don’t know, maybe it’s the two boys over there eating each other’s faces off, or those girls holding hands.” Penny followed her girlfriends eyes and smiled at each couple.

“Hey Pen,” Willow poked her.

“Yeah, Will.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

And then, for the first time in public, the two girls shared a sweet kiss without the fear of being ridiculed by church ladies.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments my dudes.


	7. IM SORRY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not a chapter

Okay I know i  _said_ i wasn't gonna abandon this but guys i backed myself into a proverbial corner. I'm so so  _so_ sorry but i literally can't think of a way to move this story forward and _keep_ moving it forward. At this point every time i try an write the next chapter it just makes me frustrated and i honestly have enough shit on my proverbial plate. i wish so badly i could keep going because i love these characters but i don't want to just update for the sake of updating.

Like, i write fanfiction for _fun_ \- and thats what my other fics were/are - but this one just aint sparking joy anymore so i gotta let it go.

Again, my deepest apologies.

 

ALSO ALSO: does anyone want to adopt this? tell me in the comments.


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